Banff wine festival a perennial favourite

The weather in Banff can be a bit iffy in fall. Maybe you'll be in short sleeves and sandals. Or maybe you'll be standing in snow that's up to your ankles.

But a few snowflakes are no reason to stay away from the 17th annual International Festival of Wine and Food at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.

Just ask Chad Greaves, the Banffshire Club wine steward and the co-ordinator of the wines for this year's festival.

Snow can be useful at a tasting, he says.

"It's good to judge the colour of a wine against the background of snow on the mountains," he says with a laugh.

"It's pretty magical, really."

Snow or no snow, Calgarians will have an opportunity to experience a bit of food and wine magic at the upcoming festival, which takes place Oct. 24 to 26.

About 250 people will attend the festival; of that, roughly 50 per cent come from Calgary and Edmonton. Most others come from Eastern Canada and the U.S.; many have attended every year since it began almost two decades ago.

Throughout the course of the weekend, they'll rub shoulders with some of the world's finest winemakers and winery owners (including Don Hartford from Hartford Family Winery, and Francesca Planeta from Sicily's Planeta winery.)

And they'll taste about 2,000 bottles -- including many limited-release and rare -- wines from those wineries.

New this year is the focus on a la carte packaging. In the past, guests were encouraged to book packages for the entire weekend; this year, however, they can pick and choose from events, depending on ticket availability.

They can come for the Champagne tasting on Friday, for instance. Or Saturday's gala. Or perhaps one-half of a couple wants to come for the entire festival, while the other half wants to go to the spa Saturday afternoon.

Individual tickets start at about $39.

"Not everybody wants to stay for the whole weekend," says Robert Flatt, the hotel's food and beverage director.

Like Flatt, however, Greaves can't wait for the festival to begin. Sure, he and two co-workers will have to open all 2,000 bottles of wine, and they'll have the blisters on their palms to prove it. They'll wear out a corkscrew or two or maybe even several. They'll start opening bottles at 6 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and they won't be finished work until the wee hours.

But Greaves -- who has worked at every festival since 1997 -- says he loves the opportunity to be at a relatively small festival, where attendees actually get the chance to meet the winemakers and to hear their stories.

"It's certainly something we look forward to every year."